Possible markers of addictive behavior in oculographic examination

Abstract

The process of digitalization, creating conditions for the formation of new types of addictions - digital addictions, has transformed the existing mechanisms for the dissemination of chemical forms of addictive behavior. Changes in the forms, methods and varieties of psychoactive substances (PS) and behavioral models actualize the need for a deep understanding of the causes of this phenomenon and the definition of markers for its manifestation. The complexity of the preventive diagnosis of addictive behavior raises the question of using new, fundamentally different mechanisms for obtaining information. The oculography (or eyetracking) method has the necessary qualities, which allows you to determine the hidden intentions of a person by analyzing his oculomotor activity. The purpose of the study is to determine the diagnostic capabilities of the eye-tracking method in identifying a tendency to addictive behavior. The study was conducted as part of a laboratory experiment using the Tobii Pro Spectrum eyetracker by demonstrating the stimulus material “search for words in the fieldword”. The experiment tested the hypothesis of confirming the experience of using drugs, tobacco-containing substances and alcohol among young people on the basis of the psychophysiological data obtained as a result of eye-tracking. As a result of the study, it was found that the subjects do not show statistically significant differences in the search for neutral and trigger stimuli in the «Alcoholism» group, but they notice and read neutral words in the «Drug addiction» group more often. The conducted experiment allows us to state that the oculography method has diagnostic capabilities in relation to identifying markers of addictive behavior in the group of drug use. The continuation of experimental research in this direction seems promising and in demand, since the use of the psychophysiological methodincreases the reliability of the data obtained, minimizes the factor of social desirability and optimizes the diagnostic procedure itself.